The Eva programme presents benefits for hosting mothers taking care of their ‘new’ son or daughter, devoting their time and energy to create welcoming family atmosphere for a newcomer. Intercultura Slovakia as an active AFS and EFIL member in the sphere of the Eva programme organised a mother exchange with Latvian host mothers at the end of May, when a group of Latvian Eva participants came to visit their counterparts in Slovakia.
The one week stay in Slovakia provided a chance to share a lot of experience of hosting/sending AFS students, tasks which are on the shoulders of host mothers, and helped both Latvian and Slovakian volunteers and mothers to better understand more deeply their respective cultures. Latvian mothers had a full week programme in Slovakia including an introduction to live in Slovakian families, the norms of the Slovakian lifestyle, relations and attitudes to different generations in the family and the society. They found hospitality and a warm atmosphere with a positive attitude to every family member.
Latvia is a flat country, so one of the visitors’ desires was to hike in the Slovak mountains – so on the programme was climbing up to a peak more than 2000 metres high, Chopok in the Low Tatras. As Slovakia is a country rich in natural beauties – a sightseeing tour connected with Slovak history and culture and included the participation in a folk show of Slovakia’s best folk ensemble called Lúčnica. By presenting a complete mosaic of Slovakian lives and country, the visit contributed well to an increased mutual understanding, which ultimately helps to make the world a better place to live in.
